McCarthy’s Poppinga justification still going on…

Read here for more McCarthy praise of Poppinga. It’s just very interesting the way McCarthy is going about this – as he talks to the reporter, it’s almost as though he’s trying to justify having such an affinity for Poppinga because he is anticipating criticism for this. As well he should be.

Look, I want to clarify that I don’t dislike Brady Poppinga personally. He is a lively interview and an interesting character. And, importantly, if McCarthy stands firm and keeps him as the starter, I really want him to do well because I just want our team to do well. I’d rather have him do well and make me look like a fool than have him continue to suck so I can be right about him. But I also have seen him struggle on the field for 3+ years as a starter and it’s just time someone else gets a chance.

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12 Responses to “McCarthy’s Poppinga justification still going on…”

I have always agreed with you awhayes about Poppinga. I have disliked him almost as much as I did with Frost. And their was even a point where I would not even mention the P word. I do have to say though, he does look a bit different this year. He has actually made a couple good plays so far this preseason. Maybe I missed some bone-headed play or something but I have not seen any problems with him so far. It appears everyone on defense has a higher intensity level… So I understand the haten on Poppinga, I just don’t understand what he did wrong this year. Maybe all he needed was a good defensive coordinator.

1.He plays the run extremely well, he never gets hurt, and per the JSOnline article today Kevin Greene seems to have some sort of special relationship with the guy. It seems entirely possible that Poppinga is in fact the best healthy ROLB on the team right now. And, when Matthews and/or Thompson get healthy they will quickly send Poppinga back to the bench.

or….

2. Matthews and Thompson both practiced today and since both are due back soon they really don’t want to pull Chillar and Bishop away from their normal positions. i.e. –they don’t want to slow the development of Bishop or Chillar in the roles they will most likely have for most of the season.

3. Is it possible that TT is ready to trade Poppinga and showcasing him in pre-season and MM inflating his perceived value to the team is a way to increase his trade value? Once Thompson and Matthews come back I think Poppinga is seriously the least important back-up in the LB group so it would make sense he might be the one guy you would trade who has actually has some value to other teams.

on point 3: I think the answer here is yes! There’s no way we’re letting bishop go, with his earthshaking tackles and ball-hawking this pre-season. he’s been everywhere. Poppinga is just as responsible as MM for increasing his trade value to this point. He’s played well this summer! I can see him going to a team who also employs a 3-4 defense, Cards? Steelers? Chargers? Ravens? Any ideas on who we could get in return? Matt Leinart? 🙂

I would agree that I think BP rates out as just an average player at best. His main talent last year seemed to be coming into the view of the camera at a 100mph after someone else made the play and either slowing up before the pile, jumping over it, or getting his hand in there for a half tackle.

Following up on that, he reminds me of Sean Jones from the mid-90’s. Jones would rack up 5 or 6 “half” sacks for getting his hand on someone that Reggie was already bringing down.

It appears that Bishop and Chillar have been getting the bulk of reps in nickel with Kampman moving up to to be the 2nd DE. I think Bishop and Chillar are the two best blitzing LB’s on the roster and it would make sense to have them on the field in nickel. Bishop for Hawk is obvious upgrade in passing downs but I wonder if Chillar has the edge over Barnett in nickel?

This also falls in line with my #2 point above. Not only do Bishop and Chillar have to learn their respective positions but they also have to learn the nickel scheme. This might be the reason they are not moving Bishop or Chillar over to ROLB while Matthews and Thompson are nicked up.